Day 39 MCAT Practice Question

Passage 7: Sound

Sound is critically important in marine ecosystems as a method of communication

for animals, submarines, and other technological instruments. Researchers

conducted an experiment to study sound waves in various aquatic contexts, with a

special focus on the speed of sound across varying media.



A speaker emitting high-frequency sound was utilized to generate sound waves at

a fixed frequency. Hydrophones, strategically placed at varying distances from the

radio, measured sound intensity and speed in freshwater, salt water, and air.

The first phase of experimental data collection involved measuring the speed of

sound in these three media at the same temperature. Results showed that there

was a significant difference between all three, with the most significant difference

between either water medium and air. Next, researchers varied the temperature

and salinity of the water in the tanks, measuring the speed of sound at regular

increments.



They also used ultrasound waves to map the seafloor, detecting obstacles. Findings

are tabulated in Table 1:

Attenuation in signal intensity was attributed to absorption and scattering of waves

in the water (as signal intensity decreased with increasing depth). Background noise

in the water column affected the precision of the measurements; regions with high

biological activity reduced measurement accuracy.

How would the intensity of the sound waves by the high-frequency speaker

change if the frequency of the sound waves doubled?

A) Intensity would double

B) Intensity would remain the same

C) Intensity would decrease by a factor of ten

D) Intensity would increase by a factor of ten